Task Force Stays Busy With Duis

September 11, 1988|By SALLIE JAMES, Staff Writer

HOLLYWOOD -- Members of a new task force to combat drunken driving wrote 196 traffic citations and arrested 30 motorists for driving under the influence during the three-day Labor Day weekend, police Sgt. Frank Hogan said.

``That`s about how many DUI arrests we expected to make,`` Hogan said.

During an average weekend, police usually make one to two DUI arrests and write 70-80 traffic citations, he said.

The DUI task force was established in May to combat holiday traffic fatalities caused by drunken drivers, police spokesman David Steele Jr. said. On Memorial Day weekend, task force members arrested 25 motorists for DUI and issued 99 traffic citations, he said.

During the Labor Day holiday, 12 officers from the department`s traffic division patrolled the city from 8 p.m to 4 a.m. Friday through Monday, Steele said.

``The reason they decided to go with the task force is because most traffic fatalities occur during the holiday weekends, and most of those traffic fatalities are attributed to drunken drivers,`` Steele said.

``They definitely will use it again, but we don`t know which holidays.``

According to police records, 12 people have died in 11 traffic accidents since January in Hollywood. Of those fatalities, two were alcohol-related and one occurred on a holiday weekend.